Cornell has finalized its policy governing protests and other expressive activities, completing a monthslong review that engaged stakeholders from across its campuses.

Formally approved March 26 by the Executive Policy Review Group and effective immediately, the new Expressive Activity Policy adopts the policy proposed by the Committee on Campus Expressive Activity. Chaired by Colleen L. Barry, dean of the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, the 19-member committee of faculty, students and staff convened last May to review the Interim Expressive Activity Policy and shared its final report and proposed policy on Dec. 19.

In a message to the Cornell community, President Michael I. Kotlikoff, Provost Kavita Bala and Provost for Medical Affairs Dr. Robert A. Harrington thanked the committee for its help developing a final policy that advances core university values – including fostering free and open inquiry and expression – and upholds legal obligations to ensure Cornell’s campuses are free from harassment and discrimination. Content-neutral time, place and manner rules, they said, support expressive rights while limiting disruptions to core academic functions and ensuring the safety of all faculty, staff, students, patients and visitors.

“I am grateful to Dean Barry and committee members for their dedication to this important work, and to the broader community for its thoughtful engagement throughout the process,” Kotlikoff said.

The committee included broad representation across colleges and schools, including Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech, as well as members of the Faculty Senate, University Assembly, Student Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, and Employee Assembly. Two noted constitutional scholars from the Cornell Law School faculty, Michael Dorf, the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law, and Nelson Tebbe, the Jane M.G. Foster Professor of Law, were key members of the committee.

The committee’s deliberations and report were informed by a review of policies at more than a dozen peer institutions; 28 listening sessions with various units, and a campuswide session; meetings with eight shared governance bodies; and nearly 500 written responses to a draft report and policy released on Oct. 30. With its final report, the committee also shared a memo summarizing how it had addressed the most common comments, criticisms and suggestions it received.

“I’m proud of the process we undertook to develop expertise within the committee and then to solicit broad input from the campus community, and to carefully consider that input to refine and revise our policy recommendations,” Barry said. “I’m optimistic that the policy creates a firm foundation and framework to guide expressive activity on campus for years to come.”

The new policy governs public-facing expressive activities including demonstrations, marches, protests, counter-protests, rallies and picketing, as well as postering, chalking and speeches. Seeking to clarify and consolidate existing policies, the university released the Interim Expressive Activity Policy in January 2024 that was updated in March 2024, prior to then-President Martha E. Pollack and Kotlikoff establishing the Committee on Campus Expressive Activity.

Following the committee’s recommendation, the university in the coming weeks will publish a webpage providing additional resources to support the policy’s implementation and broader education about expressive activity’s value to campus dialogue. The university is also forming an implementation team to assist the Cornell community with inviting speakers and hosting rallies and events involving expressive activity in accordance with the new policy.

Acting on another committee recommendation, the university recently established a task force to develop guidelines for how and when Cornell should exercise its “institutional voice” to speak officially on issues of social and political significance. Additional recommendations included in the committee’s report will be considered in the coming months.